How many applications for privately sponsored refugees does Canada accept each year?

There is an annual cap on the number of new sponsorship applications that Sponsorship Agreement Holders can submit each year.

This cap does not affect the number of refugees we admit each year. That number is set out in the Annual Immigration Levels Plan.

Before 2012, we did not limit the number of new applications that sponsors could submit. As a result, we received more applications than we could process in a given year. This created large inventories and increased processing times.

In 2012, we began limiting the number of new applications we will accept each year. This is meant to reduce wait times, and visa offices are working through these large inventories.

Caps are set out annually and are shared directly with Sponsorship Agreement Holders so that they know how many applications they can submit.